Sir Bruce Keogh is appointed chair of judges for HSJ Awards

Sir Bruce Keogh, the former National Medical Director for NHS England, will chair the judges’ panel for the 37th annual HSJ Awards – the world’s largest healthcare awards programme.

In this newly created role of chair, Sir Bruce will lead around 180 judges who will scrutinize entries for the awards, which recognise healthcare professionals and institutions that continue to innovate and improve services for patients.

Sir Bruce’s responsibilities will include recruiting new judges and reviewing judges’ scores and commentary. He will also ensure that the process for the awards scheme, which includes eight new categories, and will provide individual feedback on each entry this year for the first time, remains fair and transparent.

Sir Bruce who is chair of Birmingham Women’s and Children’s NHS Foundation Trust, said: “I feel honoured to have been asked to chair the judges’ panel on this prestigious awards scheme, which highlights some of the very best ideas, people and organisations in our NHS.

“On the human side, recognising excellence and innovation, publicly or privately, makes those responsible, feel warm and valued and encourages them to go further. On a more practical side, well publicised awards raise the profile and reflect well on individuals and organisations, making others want to emulate the winners. These awards help spread the word.”

HSJ Editor, Alastair McLellan, said: “Sir Bruce is one of the most respected figures in the NHS. As the first medical director of, initially, the Department of Health and then NHS England he was in the vanguard of national initiatives to drive up healthcare quality during a period of very significant challenge for NHS. We are very pleased and proud he will become our first chair of judges.”

Andrew Preston, Chief Executive, de Poel health+care, which sponsors the awards, said: “Celebrating the success stories of our partners in healthcare is the reason for supporting the HSJ Awards. I am delighted that Sir Bruce has joined as Chair of Judges, as his wealth of experience and reputation across the NHS will serve to further highlight the great work that the HSJ Awards entrants do for patient care.”

Entries for the HSJ Awards are welcomed from healthcare professionals wishing to share best practice, teams looking for recognition for exceptional work, organisations celebrating improvements in patient outcomes and private organisations wanting to showcase their partnerships.

Many of the most popular award categories from previous years have returned, including the chief executive and the provider trust of the year. The eight new awards include acute or specialist services redesign, patient digital participation, creating a supportive staff culture and optimisation of medicines management.

The closing deadline for all submissions is 31 May and the presentation ceremony will take place on 21 November 2018. For further information on the awards and how to enter, log on to https://awards.hsj.co.uk.

HSJ is the only title to cover all aspects of publicly funded healthcare, providing news, analysis, best practice information and advice from the most powerful people in health, for the most powerful people in health.

The HSJ audience is formed of healthcare leaders from both clinical and non-clinical backgrounds and both public and private sectors.

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